The math says Boston needs to win just one of the two games in Los Angeles to win the title. They won Game 2, they’ve proven they can win on this floor. History says they can do it — the won a Game 7 in Los Angles back in 1969.

The reality is the Celtics want no part of a Game 7.

Right now, the Celtics have the Lakers frustrated and on the ropes. Their defensive intensity has left the Lakers dumbfounded on offense, forcing Kobe Bryant to try and do it all himself. The Celtics bench brings the energy the Lakers do not. Boston has all the momentum.

Lose Game 6 and that momentum swings. The Lakers become confident again. Plus, home teams win Game 7s more often than the Celtics want to think about.

Boston has done a fantastic job on defense, realizing that Andrew Bynum is not a real threat right now and no longer fearing to help off of him as they did in the first couple games. The Lakers don’t have an answer for that — Boston has worn down Pau Gasol with the tag team of Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett. Bynum can’t help. Lamar Odom is… Lamar Odom. Ron Artest is in the corner hesitating then shooting threes.

Boston needs to come out, set the tone defensively tonight, keep the Lakers on the perimeter. Own the paint. Boston has to continue to dominate on the glass, they need to board like madmen. Then they need to run, to get Rajon Rondo in the open court and Paul Pierce at the three-point line. The Celtics need to get back in transition defense — they are not going to shoot like they did in Game 5, and the Lakers will be looking to get some easy buckets. Boston needs to get them to slow down and face their half-court defense. Which is a wall.

Boston needs to do it tonight. A Game 7 can be fluky, can turn on little things and lucky bounces. The kind of things that go to the home team. The kind of things that go to a confident team. Right now, the Lakers are not that. Close them out in Game 6 and the get banner 18. Keep the momentum.

Because if the Lakers get confident, if they feel they have figured it out, if they force a Game 7, things will feel very different. They will look different. Plus Boston doesn’t really want to risk facing what Kobe Bryant could do in one game with it all on the line.

Where’s the Cavaliers down by one point with nine seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Rodney Hood took it upon himself to take what he thought would be the last shot for Cleveland. Hood danced around the defense before finally taking a jumper from the free-throw line, which bounced softly off the rim.

Nance, battling down low for the rebound, worked his way free for a tip-in as time expired.

What counts as collusion these days in the NBA? What counts as tampering? It’s hard to say, but the league office takes a look at each and every comment like the one LeBron James made on Tuesday about New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis.

Speaking to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James said it would be incredible if Davis were somehow able to make his way onto the Los Angeles Lakers. This slots into the rumor around the NBA that LA is stockpiling its young core to be able to trade for a player like Davis.

“That would be amazing,” James told ESPN on Tuesday before the Lakers’ 115-110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. “That would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible.”

There’s nothing much here that LeBron said that isn’t factual. Davis is a 5-time All-Star and one of the best players in the NBA, a unicorn not unlike LeBron himself.

The NBA is certainly hoping that the Lakers can get their act together and put a powerhouse around James at Staples Center. How he does it is up for debate, although making comments about current players probably isn’t the best idea. James has been able to keep his mouth shut for the most part, but perhaps talk of Davis is just too tempting.

But was Harden called for a travel by officials? No. At least, not at first.

Video of Harden’s ridiculous shuffle was circulated on social media after the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz, 102-97. Harden was asked about the move by media, and said that he wasn’t going to tell on himself, which is fair enough.

On Tuesday the official NBA referee Twitter page decided to comment on the play at hand, admitting that they had made a mistake and had missed a travel.

Via Twitter:

The offensive player gathers the ball while on his right foot. He then takes a step with his left foot (step 1) into a hop step, landing first with his right foot (step 2) and then illegally with his left (step 3). We missed this one – it is a traveling violation. https://t.co/BqMAoZHgIu

Having a Twitter account hasn’t always worked out for the NBRA. Their explanations of what many would consider to be violations have often stood in the face of common sense. To that end, they’ve sometimes been mocked on social media, which is against their goal of having the social channel in the first place. But this play with Harden was a particular sore subject with fans around the league, and it was right of them in to make a comment.

LeBron James is seemingly and ageless wonder. The Los Angeles Lakers forward is still one of the most athletic players to ever grace an NBA court, and despite his obvious physical decline, that’s not to say he’s a slouch out there. He’s not exactly late-career Boris Diaw just yet.

But LeBron is now 34 years old, and as such there are other players on the floor with him at any given time that have a bit more bounce than The King. James found that out the hard way on Tuesday night as the Lakers took on the Brooklyn Nets in New York.

During a play early in the first quarter, James drove to the basket only to be rejected by Brooklyn’s Jarrett Allen at the rim.